As schools and parents continue to celebrate best grades in
this year’s KCSE, St. James ACK Cathedral in Murang’a saw 29 out of 32 Murang’a
County Initiative (MCI) scholarship beneficiaries lauded for their
determination to pass the examination that was very strictly monitored.

While addressing the scholars, MCI patron Dr. Peter Munga
said that 95 percent of them had attained university grades. He challenged the
students, who all come from poor backgrounds, to ensure that they broke the
vicious cycle of poverty in their families through education.

This year’s beneficiaries registered five A-, 10 B+, five B,
six B- and two C+ with only three students attaining a C.

Diana Wanjiru Gatuto from Kibutha Girls High School and
Kimani Kelvin Mwaura were lifted shoulder high after attaining grade A- of 78
points and 74 points respectively. The two were so excited as the narrated
their story of how they were offered scholarship by MCI having lost hope of
pursuing secondary school education for they are from very poor families.

“When I was admitted to Njiiri School, I was worried of how
my poor parents would get me to that school since my father had already left us
with my mother due to his drunkenness. I could cry at night and ask God to
intervene in my situation because I knew I was the only hope for my family. God
answered my prayers through MCI scholarship and now I can see my dream of
becoming an engineer coming true.” Said Kelvin Mburu.

Diana who aspires to be a doctor also took down memory lane
on how she had watched her hopes die after she was admitted to Kibutha Girls
secondary school considering the fact that her parents were unable to pay for
her.

“When I become a neuro surgeon, I will ensure that I give
back to my community in Murang’a County and ensure that children from poor like
me also get access to good education. Indeed, MCI has set the pace.” Said
Diana.

MCI chairman Prof. Kiarie Mwaura explained that even the
three students who did not attain the university grades would be guided in
selecting the best colleges where they would pursue their preferred courses.

Prof. Kiarie noted that the students would in future make
good professionals after being guided by MCI, which was an organisation of
professionals, business people and well-wishers from Murang’a County.

MCI came together under the patronage of Equity Bank’s
chairman Dr. Peter Munga who is also a son of Murang’a County. The organization
was started in 2010 and admitted its first students in 2011, who sat for their
KCSE last year. All the 32 joined different universities and are still under
MCI scholarships.

Dr. Peter Munga then pointed out that the students were
supposed to apply for higher education loans board loan (HELB) but before the
loan was processed, MCI helped in ensuring that all the 32 students joined
universities.

He added that their organisation has now over 250 students
and was not affiliated to any political outfit or politician.

“It is not the County government that sponsors your
education. It is not the governor even though he ought to have his contribution
but he did not show his goodwill or any support to MCI yet Murang’a County
through MCI is the only County that gives scholarships to its bright but needy
students who come from poor backgrounds. That is how MCI is breaking the
vicious cycle of poverty in Murang’a that in four years to come, the County
will have majority number of doctors, lawyers, engineers, and professionals of
all kind, courtesy of MCI.” Dr. Munga said.

A Thika Township Ward 2017 aspirant has called on the
government and the society to give greater emphasis on the challenges facing
people living with disabilities (PWDs) and their families by addressing the
barriers they face in their everyday lives and understanding their priorities
right.

Nominated M.C.A Florence
Njeri Ngeru (Flozie) said issues related to disability were not merely
the fact that the person was suffering from certain restraints in physical, mental
or social aspects but they went beyond this point in concern about the
livelihood of the persons affected.

Speaking at Eden Centre in Kiandutu, Thika Sub-County while
sharing New Year’s gifts to over 50 PWDs and their families, Flozie emphasised
that the importance to understand the nature of disabilities and their
consequences as this would help in assisting them live a normal domestic life.

The leader blamed the predicaments these group of people squarely
on the current leadership which she said had failed to seek solutions that
could solve them once and for all. She reckoned that there was a disconnect
between the people and the leaders at the helm as those who were supposed to be
the link failed to play their role or rather were never in touch with the
reality on the ground.

She argued that this was just part of the reason that she
had decided to vie for the seat of Thika Township Ward in the coming General
Elections.

“Without the proper care and help, it is next to impossible
to help these people and it is essential to help them not only because they are
part of our community but also because they are part of the humanity. What I have
witnessed here is a sad picture of a people left to fate with no one really
addressing their plight. This is so unfortunate and very unacceptable
considering the fact that we have leaders assigned with the duty to oversee any
form of intervention,” said the MCA in tears.

Flozie said that her leadership would prioritise the
disadvantaged people who she said were neglected and forgotten by the current
representatives.

“These leaders have no business with the disabled and the
aged as they are regarded as a burden and cannot be useful when it came to executing
their brand of politics. There are so many kitties in both the national and the
county governments that money can be derived to assist you start a business. As
leader, one is also privileged to access the top leadership to source for
assistance for their people. If those you elected cannot do that, then it
simply mean that they assumed leadership to nurse their selfish interests,” she
said.

She thanked Kiambu governor William Kabogo for donating the
foodstuff and promised them that she would personally ask him to visit them so
that they could articulate their challenges to him and work out solutions to
some of their challenges.

On behalf of the group, Centre Director Eunice Muringi
Mwangi thanked the MCA and the governor for their gesture noting that were it
not for them, majority of those people would have ushered in the New Year with
nothing to eat. She noted that the MCA’s visit was the first for any leader even
though they had tried reaching others in vain.

“No leader has ever laid foot on this ground before even
after we have made all efforts to invite them. Some of our problems are not financial
but the lack of someone to link us with the relevant authorities. We can
categorically say that our elected leaders have totally neglected us and given
our pleas a wide berth,” said Ms. Mwangi.

In the year 2004, Andrew Kinuthia Njoroge’s family had no
idea what happened to him after he disappeared. Fourteen years later, a once disoriented
young man shows up at their home in Munandai-ni, Nguthuru Sub-Location, Kandara
Constituency of Murang’a County claiming to be their long lost son.

The news of his return brought the entire village into
jubilation on Wednesday as majority of the people had presumed the worst for
this son of the soil.

His mother Nancy Mumbi Njoroge, could not hide her joy as
she narrated how her son knocked her door that evening.

“When he introduced himself as my son, I called his name
thrice just to be sure that I was speaking to the right person. It is long
since I saw him. He left home as a small boy and I had to be sure that this was
not a dream,” said the joyful mother.

Mumbi says that on that fateful day, she left home in the
morning for casual labour only to miss her son in the evening. Their search for the boy was fruitless, days after visiting various
police stations, hospitals and morgues in the region. Eventually, the family
retired to fate but just asked God to perform a miracle that would have brought
him back to them, either dead or alive.

“What pained me is that by the time of his disappearance, no
one in the family had issues with Kinuthia to warrant his disappearance. This made
us believe that the worst had happened to him but something kept telling me
that I would find him one day. I therefore do not know how to thank God for
today’s developments,” said Mumbi.

On his part, Kinuthia said that he left for Nairobi after he
could not withstand the hardships he had to live with at home due to poverty. He
went to Huruma slums where he ended up being in the streets. Occasionally, he
would join the estate youth in football but this did not bring food to the
table.

“When I realised that I had difficulties feeding myself, I
resulted to being a parking boy where drivers would give us tips for helping
them park their cars and put away other boys who were in the habit of vandalising
the vehicles. But this money was just peanuts, so I eventually joined a group
of young men who were mugging people for a living,” said Kinuthia.

His life as a mugger was never a bag of roses as he in many
occasions escaped death by a whisker. He survived to see many of his accomplices
die via the police bullet or through mob justice. This disturbed him so much
and many a times, he wished that he could change his ways.

He eventually opted out the criminal life after receiving so
many death threats from the police who warned him that they would shoot
him on sight regardless of whether they had caught him in the act or not.

“I decided to scavenge plastics for a living. In the
process, I started taking glue to relieve my stress. This went on for
a while before I started abusing other hard drugs. Eventually, I got addicted
and ended up being a zombie,” he narrated.

Kinuthia was rescued by an NGO, The Homeless of Nairobi, who
took him to a rehab centre for a period of three months. Upon full recovery, the
organisation took him to Makueni where he served as a shop assistant before the
business collapsed. Having nothing to do, he returned to Nairobi where the NGO readmitted
him and later took him to a driving school. He has recently graduated and is now
waiting for his licence.

“I requested the management to allow me visit my family over
this Christmas as I was already missing to see them. I thank the Director Mr.
Clifford Oluoch for were it not for him, I wouldn’t be talking to you as I am
doing now. I would either be rotting down in drugs or even dead by now,” he
added.

He plans to settle down soon and probably start a family of
his own. He appealed to his fellow youth to stay away from crime and drugs as
their results were dire.

Ndung’u Kahungura, human rights activist in the area promised
to assist Kinuthia secure a job soon after he got his licence as a way of
protecting him from backsliding into his wayward past.

“I will personally talk to a few friends who will help him
get a job as soon as he gets his driver’s licence. I plead to the society to
accept such people back as it is in such gestures that we help them to reform,”
said Ndung’u.